Man Rescues Dog From Icy Waters But It's Actually a Wolf

It wasn't until a local hunter pointed it out that they realized the "dog" was in fact a wolf

Stephanie

• Published in Animals
• April 15, 2019

When three construction workers noticed what looked like a dog struggling to swim through the icy waters of the Parnu river in Estonia, they kindly went to the animal's aid.

Rando Kartsepp, Robin Sillamäe, and Erki Väli worked together to clear a path in the ice, pull the animal out of the water and get him safely back to their car wrapped in a towel to get him warm.

“We had to carry him over the slope. He weighed a fair bit,” one of the workers said.

After calling animal rescue, the men drove the exhausted animal to a nearby veterinary clinic.

The specialists discovered the animal was suffering from low blood pressure, which could explain it's docile behavior.

Even the veterinary specialists didn't realize what they were dealing with. It wasn't until a local hunter pointed it out that they realized the "dog" was in fact a wolf.

The wolf was also confirmed to be male and around one-year-old.

The Estonian Animal Protection Union took to Facebook and posted: “When we got to the shore, the poor wolf was very exhausted, hypothermic and frozen. Young men quickly ran into the car, brought a towel and dried the animal. Then he took him to a warm car and called the animal protection Union. It was also a challenge for the union to think about what to do in the morning at 8 with a dog in [distress], who could also have been a wolf.”

The wolf has since been nursed back to health and released back into the wild with a GPS collar around his neck.

The Estonian Union for the Protection of Animals (EUPA) paid for all of the wolf's treatment.

The EUPA told the media, “We are so happy for the outcome of the story, and wish to thank all the participants – especially these men who rescued the wolf and the doctors of the clinic who were not afraid to treat and nurture the wild animal.”

The three construction workers have also been widely praised for their kind hearts.

Stephanie